How Your Home is Protected During a Roof Replacement
Most likely, you are a homeowner that is dealing with roofing issues for the first time. You may have spotted a leak, or insurance is telling you your home needs an upgrade. But the roofing process isn’t simple- and there are a lot of unknowns to account for. That’s where we come in.
We’ve worked with clients just like you. Ones that are new to the roofing process and are concerned with protecting the homes they invested in. For over a decade, we have helped them to achieve their new roof dreams, and we are determined to do the same for you.
Education is the key to success, and you want to be as educated as possible when it comes to making a costly investment in the safety of your home. In this article, we will break down everything you can do as a homeowner to play a role in protecting your home and what we do on the contractors’ side. With this, you’ll know every step to take to insure your home is in better condition than when we found it.
How You Can Help Protect Your Home Before Construction
Before the contractors arrive on-site there are a few things you can do to make sure everything is ready to begin construction:
1. Cut Your Grass
During the roof replacement, there may be debris or nails that fall during the project, and to ensure proper clean up of the yard it must be cut. Otherwise, the magnetic roller used to pick up fallen nails may not be as effective.
2. Remove Lawn and Garden Lights/Decorations
Any decorations or lights can be damaged during the roofing process. There may be debris that falls and damages them. Additionally, they will be in the way of the ladders the crews use to access the roof. To keep your belongings safe, make sure they are stashed away while the contractors are there.
3. Cover and Move Patio Furniture
Let’s face it- patio furniture is expensive. Protect your investment by covering it to protect it from falling debris, and moving it out of the way of the crew. Taking this step will make it easier for them to do their job and saves you the headache of potentially having to clean a patio chair later.
4. Secure Your Attic
Depending on the age of the home and how it was built, there may be large gaps between the wood planks that cover the top of your home. During a roof replacement, nails, dust, and other debris can fall through these gaps before all of the under layers of the roof are replaced.
Some roofing companies do offer to tarp the attic as a part of their protection process. This is not a service Rescue My Roof provides. Customers will need to tarp the attic themselves before the crew arrives.
How Your Home Will Be Protected During Construction
Now that you’ve done your work, we’ll begin ours. A quality roofing company’s primary goal should be to leave you happy with the entire experience- which means they should have a top-notch protection process for your home.
1. Tarps Are Our Best Friends
To prevent any damage to the siding, builders will place tarps all around the house to cover the sides from top to bottom. Occasionally, they will have to move these tarps to protect flowers from any damage- especially when it is warm out.
In the end, we want all of your belongings to stay in the best possible shape. We don’t want the flowers to be too warm- and they probably wouldn’t either. Tarps will be placed around them to keep them from baking in high temperatures.
2. Window Coverings
You’re already making a big update to your home. You probably don’t want the additional trouble of replacing the windows too. To prevent any damage due to falling shingles or old wood, plywood is placed across all of the windows.
You’ll be missing natural light for a day or two, but it’s all in the interest of keeping your home in the best possible condition.
3. You’re Not Held Responsible
Should anything be damaged along the process, your roofing company should have policies in place to either fix or replace what was damaged. Unless it is something that was mentioned as a customer responsibility in the contract (such as lawn ornaments or lights) then the roofing company should take responsibility for it.
What Will the Cleanup From My New Roof Installation Be Like?
The roof may be done, but our job is not. There are still some steps we need to take to ensure everything is done properly, to assess any damage that may have occurred, and to make sure you are satisfied with the quality and protection of the services completed.
1. Cleanup
This process is relatively short but essential. The tarps and window coverings will be taken down from the sides of the house. A magnet will be rolled over the surrounding area to make sure any rogue nails have been picked up. And Voila! You will be able to see your home in all of its glory.
2. The Final Walkthrough
Communication is vital throughout the entirety of this process, but now even more so. If something concerns you, you should talk it through with the project manager as you do the final walkthrough of the roof. This step is here to make sure you got the service you paid for.
And just like that, you have a new roof and clean space
From every precaution, like taking stuff off of the walls and moving patio furniture, to the steps we take as contractors, every base should be covered when it comes to installing a new roof on your home.
At Rescue My Roof, we work hard every day to ensure an experience like this for our customers. You can be a part of our team too, by clicking here to receive your free estimate today.